Dandy's leg wound, December 7, 2011

Dandy's leg wound, January 11, 2012

Dandy’s wound was a result of becoming cast(tangled up under a paddock panel).  The weight of the panel which held her down in her stall pressed on the top of her left thigh.  Apparently she struggled vigorously throughout the night to free herself and her attempts to do so caused severe pressure to her left front leg which in turn, restricted blood flow to the area.  Once untangled from underneath the panels, the only visible evidence of injury was an area about the size of a hot dog bun on the top of her left thigh where all the hair had been rubbed off.  Three days later, the underlying tissues, now necrotic due to lack of blood flow, began to fester and an abscess developed.  We called the vet out immediately.  She lanced below the abscessed area so that the pus had a means of escape and informed HartSong staff that Dandy’s wound would need to be cleaned, scrubbed and medicated daily.  In addition, she was prescribed 26 antibiotic pills per day for 15 days.  We have followed the vet’s orders to a tee and sure enough, slowly but surely, the wound started to heal.  These photo are testament to that for today, there is no evidence of infection, the wound is significantly smaller and Dandy is in excellent spirits.  Hats off to 37 year old Dandy…she is one stoic horse.  Never once, during the daily scrubbing and cleaning, which must have been very painful for her to endure, did she give us any grief while we did what we had to do to make her better.  She is such a good girl. as sweet as the day is long and very trusting of our intentions.  Obviously, she will have a huge scar but we don’t mind one bit.  Thanks to everyone for including Dandy in your prayers.  She’s now over the worst of this ordeal and will soon be free to roam HartSong’s pastures once again.  Many, many more good days are ahead for this beautiful girl.  The spirit and resilience of the American Quarter Horse is alive and well in Dandy.